Mojave phone booth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mojave phone booth |
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|---|---|
| General information | |
| Status | Removed 05/17/2000 |
| Type | Phone booth |
| Location | Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County, California |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 35°17′09″N 115°41′05″W / 35.285827°N 115.68463°W |
| Inaugurated | 1960s |
| Owner | Pacific Bell |
The Mojave Phone Booth was a single telephone booth located in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve in California. It became very famous online in 1997 because of its unusual spot. The phone booth stood at the meeting point of two dirt roads in a very remote part of the Mojave Desert. It was about 12 miles (19 km) from the closest paved road and far away from any buildings.
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The Phone Booth's Story
The phone booth was first put in place around 1948. It was meant to provide phone service for local miners and other people living in that isolated area. A man named Emerson Ray, who owned a nearby mine, asked for it.
The phone booth was part of a special network of "policy stations." These were placed by the California government to help people in very remote parts of the state. The Mojave Phone Booth likely replaced an older one about 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the south.
Over the years, the phone booth changed.
- First, it had a hand-cranked phone.
- In the 1960s, it became a payphone.
- In the 1970s, the old rotary dial was replaced with a modern touch-tone phone.
The phone booth's number also changed over time as new area codes were created. Its final area code was 760.
How the Phone Booth Became Famous
In 1997, a man from Los Angeles saw a phone icon on a map of the Mojave Desert. He decided to visit the phone booth. He wrote a letter about his adventure to a magazine and included the phone booth's number.
An Arizona man named Godfrey Daniels read the letter. He then created a website just for the Mojave Phone Booth. The booth became a huge online sensation after it was mentioned in a The New York Times newspaper article.
Soon, many people started calling the booth. Others made their own websites about it. Some people even traveled to the desert to answer the phone, often camping out at the site. Many callers recorded their conversations. Over time, visitors left lots of graffiti on the booth.
Why the Phone Booth Was Removed
The phone booth was removed by Pacific Bell on May 17, 2000. This happened because the National Park Service asked for it. They were worried about the environmental impact of so many visitors on the national preserve.
After it was removed, the phone number was officially taken out of service. A special memorial stone was later placed at the site. However, the National Park Service eventually removed that too. Fans of the booth were sad, and Pacific Bell confirmed that the booth had been destroyed.
Inspired by the Phone Booth
The story of the Mojave Phone Booth inspired many creative works:
- An independent short film called Dead Line.
- A short documentary called Mojave Mirage.
- A full-length movie titled Mojave Phone Booth.
- It also inspired the start of the Glenn Beck novel The Overton Window.
- It was the topic of a 99% Invisible podcast episode.
- In 2018, a book called Adventures with the Mojave Phone Booth was published. It tells the full story of the booth.
The Phone Number Lives On
Even though the physical phone booth is gone, its old phone number, 760-733-9969, is now active again!
In 2013, a phone enthusiast named Lucky225 got the number. Now, when you call it, you join a voice over IP conference call. This means strangers can connect and chat, just like when the phone booth was still there.
New ways to connect have also been added:
